7 > Image 7 of Kentucky Alumnus, 1986, no. 3

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Frmers Motivotions New Kid in Town
_ in Not all farmers are involved in agricul- -The "marginal family farmer," Owensboro Community College got a
l` ` ture for the same reasons, and thus are who lacks property or skills, and values good start as UKs 14th community col-
" i likely to be affected differently by gov- autonomy while finding it difficult to re- lege with a Fall 86 enrollment of 1,800.
ernment farm policies, says a UK soci- main autonomous. While he may be in Classes were held last year as an exten-
@5 ologist, Patrick Mooney. a poor financial condition, he is more sion of Henderson Community College
h i While some farmers view their Oeeu- likely to stay in farming because he en- proving the need for a permanent facili-
d pation solely as a business, others are joys the lifestyle. ty. After authorization by the 1986
Ji driven more by a desire to live the agri- Mooney says farmers who are not General Assembly, plans are now mov-
ie Il cultural lifestyle. purely economically motivated may not ing ahead for construction of new facili-
P Those in the latter category some- be helped much by government farm ties on approximately 100 acres of land
= times make decisions that seem contrary policy, because such policies tend to ig- on US 231 at Veach Road. The hiring
is V to the economists view of proiit- nore the "human" factor and assume of an architect to draw up plans and
te l maximization. These decisions are not that falmfS will alWayS do what is most specifications is the next item on the
2 irrational but reflect a different set of C001'i&llY expedient. agenda.
j values, which Mooney referred to as MTG 3 l0t of f&fY1'1fS, tl'1 f1'10St impor-
- "craftship"where work is valued as tant thing is autonomy, what they call
Dr more than merely a means to make iboiflg mY OWU b0SS, iisiid Mooney.
d` mOney_ "If some action could allow them to
in "EcOOmjstS and policymakers [end make more money but threaten that au-
to assume that all decision-making takes tonorny, such as borrowing money for
Cr place in [hg COy)[(-jxt Of pygfit- Xp21I1SlOI'1, SOl'l'1 Of[l'1Cl'l'l Cl`1OOS 3.l1
rc maximization, lm trying to show that tonomy 0VF PYOHL
iI`_ [hg[g ngt always [hc Cg_g Mggngy NOHC of {ht? lI`OI'1lS of lZl'liS is that lll
Said the current farm crisis, many of those
nc In 8 mmm Study in Wisconsin, MOC- who are surviving are the ones who did
[I" ngy idgntifigd {Our ggngyal Catgggrigs Of 1'IOt follow tl'lC COI'IOI'1'llC I`3[lOl'l3.llty of
ic- farmers based on their motivations and tho 1970s and Wh0 dccidfid to forgo X
ifs Cmnomic Wellbeing; pansion in order to avoid debt."
_ The "successful family farmer,"
m who owns his property, is not financial- . L
rt- ` ly encumbered, and enjoys his work
cts both for its own sake and for the prod-
`C- , uct it yields. He is able to buy and sell
l` in a competitive market, and his work is
, an integral part of his culture, ____ _
{ The "eeonomist`s i`armer," who
_ owns the land (or rents it if it 1smore .E=
f profitable to do so) and makes decisions ff ag gl , `Q
. based mainly on profit maximization. t l v:/: { ' j_ w
l Farming for him is less a lifestyle, more ` ` I
lr abusiness. '
1 em Saly.*
ant or heavily 1n debt', with minimal
skills. Farming for him 1S_]L1Si a_]ob, and !
because job opportunities are often W / `
more plentiful and lucrative elsewhere, / -*/ ,/J __,>__ \ `
` he is likely to take part-time or full-time /,/r /_//"' // / Y //
l employment offthe farm. lr, / / ~
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T / / 7 *ii `
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